Car seen smashing through divider to hit bus on opposite side of road; no passengers hurt

A red Honda mowed through the road divider in Eunos Link yesterday morning, cutting through four lanes to crash into a bus full of commuters.

No one was injured, but the car's driver, a 38-year-old man in a white T-shirt and bermudas, was seen shouting at and pushing both police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers who had rushed to the scene.

Three SCDF paramedics had to restrain him and hold him down as they attended to him for close to half an hour.

An SCDF spokesman said it was alerted to the accident near the junction of Eunos Link and Ubi Avenue 2 at around 7.30am and sent an ambulance to the spot.

The motorist was handed over to the police after being assessed by paramedics. Police said he was arrested for using criminal force against a public servant.

Investigations are ongoing.

Onlookers told The Straits Times the affected passengers, from Service No. 51, alighted and took the next bus. The SBS Transit double- decker, which had its windscreen smashed, had been heading towards Hougang. Its driver declined comment.

Another motorist, Mr Chung Sew Meng, 42, was driving to work when he saw the red car moving very quickly from the opposite direction. It crashed through the road divider near him.

"It happened within seconds... I saw his car ram over to this side of the road, crashing over the barrier. I was just beside the car," said the furnishing company director. "It was quite shocking.

"Luckily, there were no (other) motorists, no motorcycles."

About 30 people in the vicinity stopped to see what had happened.

Among them was secondary school student Mandez Siow, 16, who lives in Ubi Avenue 1. Hearing a bang from his room, he stepped out to take a look and saw the driver walking about outside the car.

"He was walking around the place where I think he broke through a fence," he said.

Debris, including pieces of the green fence on the divider, were seen scattered across the other lanes of the road, causing a jam when vehicles slowed down as they passed the spot.

Security officer Ahmad Juhari, 50, was on his way home from his night shift when he saw the accident from a nearby bus stop.

"The driver got violent," he said. "The officers were trying to help him. It's the first time I've seen an accident where the driver gets violent with officers in uniform."

The maximum punishment for using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duties is four years' jail and a fine.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 24, 2016, with the headline 'Driver crashes into bus; shoves cops, medics'. Print Edition | Subscribe

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